Are you having to maneuver around snowy sidewalks?

Wallace Mack of Pontiac walks on northbound Perry Street in Pontiac because the sidewalks are not cleared of snow. Many others are forced to do the same, creating potentially dangerous situations, especially after sunset. Tuesday, February 11, 2014. Tim Thompson-The Oakland Press

Pontiac resident Bobby Morton sees residents walking in the middle of the roadway from his home on North Perry Street — feet from cars going 40 mph — daily this winter.

He’s done it, himself, he said.

“The other day, I saw two ladies walking down the middle of the street in the turn lane,” said Morton, minutes after shoveling his driveway. “It’s dangerous — especially at night.

“If people (walking) are wearing dark clothes ... if you’re not watching, you could hit somebody real easy.”

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Morton is among many in Oakland County who have been either inconvenienced or put in harm’s way because of a harsh winter and a muddling of whose responsibility it is to clear snow from city and residential sidewalks, and what’s being done about it.

Some communities, such as Huntington Woods, have snow removal ordinances, but they clean city walks regularly after every snowfall.

Claire Galed, manager of the Department of Public Works in Huntington Woods, said she moved to the small, square-mile community in 1977, and the city was clearing the snow for its residents even then.

“It’s something we’ve always done, and something residents really like and have come to expect,” said Galed, who explained this winter’s record-breaking snowfall and frigid temperatures had slowed the process.

“But we don’t put people on overtime to do the sidewalks.

“It’s kind of a last priority, because we aren’t enforcing our ordinance, but we do make every effort to do it ... this is a very walkable community with about 50 miles of sidewalk.”

Bill Matthewson, general counsel for advocacy group the Michigan Municipal League, said that in most communities, it’s the land owner’s responsibility — whether it is a business owner or a homeowner — to clear snow from sidewalks.

Some Southeast Michigan townships, cities and villages have begun enforcing ordinances and ticketing those who don’t comply with a call to remove snow within 24 to 48 hours.

According to Matthewson, though, enforcement — along with policy — is a case-by-case basis.

“The winter has been almost, or absolutely, unprecedented,” he said. “It seems to me that there has to be a level of appreciation for how difficult the winter has been.”

Ann Arbor has recently been in the news for dishing out more than 400 notices to people who haven’t cleared their sidewalks in 24 hours.

In Pontiac, a snow removal ordinance is in place — but no one has enforced it in nearly 10 years, said Terry King, the city’s director of public works.

“We didn’t ticket anyone this year” for that reason, said King, noting that the city needs to do a better job of holding everyone — including itself — responsible for clearing the walks and enforcing the rules.

“We got some backlash (this year) when we went to them and told them we need some support.”

King said he’ll be working this summer on revamping of city ordinances, snow removal plans and how they’re enforced, and will roll it out to residents via mailers, notices on the city’s website and more.

“Eventually, it comes to the point where you have to hold the property owner accountable,” he said. “That’s where we need the community to get involved … we have to get to the point where the community acts as a whole rather than a (group of) individuals.”

In the city of Clarkston, where residents are responsible for shoveling their own sidewalks, City Manager Carol Eberhardt said she’s been giving “gentle reminders,” but ordinance tickets aren’t being issued.

The city has sent letters to residents and posted notices on Facebook to urge people to shovel their walks. The sidewalk along Holcomb Road is particularly bad, she said.

Typically, the business owners downtown do a pretty good job keeping the sidewalks cleared.

The city uses a tractor to plow the sidewalks in front of the city building and some of the ramps downtown as well as the walkways in Depot Park.

Part of the problem is when Oakland County plows Main Street, the snow flies onto the sidewalks, she said. Also, some of the homeowners are elderly or have traveled south for the winter.

“In our neighborhood, we all help each other shovel,” she said. “Not every neighborhood is like that.”